IPAD 2 INSANITY: People Are Lining Up At 10 AM For iPad Shipments That Come The NEXT Morning

One week after the launch of the iPad 2, Apple is having problems meeting demand.

Several customers were literally running through the mall to the door of the Apple Store in San Francisco's Stonestown Mall when it opened this morning at 9 a.m. in hopes of getting their hands on the latest crop.

They were out of luck. To snag one, they had to show up when the line formed outside the mall at 7 a.m., and be one of the first 50 people in line.

A staffer at the store yesterday said that it had sold out of its initial shipment of 500 iPad 2s on Wednesday, five days after it went on sale. Since then, the store is supposed to receive daily shipments of about 50, but they haven't been coming every day. To avoid confusion and disappointment, the store isn't taking reservations -- you have to show up and wait.

A call to the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco revealed even more insanity: people have started lining up at 10 a.m. to get shipments that come in the next morning. A staffer there said shipments have ranged between about 20 and about 100, and the store does not know ahead of time how many it will get.

In other words, if you really want one, be prepared to jump through some hoops. Or just order it online and wait.

Apple has not disclosed first week sales numbers for the iPad 2, but many stores are out of stock and the wait time for online orders has increased from a few days to four to five weeks.